Monday, February 8, 2016

Tarleton Student's Grandson Donates Items to Archives

It's Library Lovers Month here at Tarleton, and sometimes our library lovers aren't students, or faculty, or staff, or even alumni.  Today our library lover was the grandson of a Tarleton student, and he brought some of his grandmother's Tarleton items to donate to the archives.


Shawn Blue of Waco (pictured at left in the collage above) came by the Dick Smith Library today.  His grandmother, Edna Myrtle Wolfe (pictured upper right in the collage above), attended Tarleton for the 1925-1926 school year.  He donated her 1926 Grassburr yearbookher "Purple Book" student handbook dated September 1, 1925 (the subject for a future post), and a leather book strap with a "Tarleton" buckle (pictured lower right in the collage above).

Edna was born September 20, 1906, in Fairy, Texas, the oldest of five children of Hub Harvey and Altie M. Wolfe.  On the 1930 Census, Edna is living on the Hico Road in Hamilton County and working as a public school teacher - perhaps she was preparing for that career while at Tarleton.  She married William Clancy Blue, and their oldest son Dorsey Dwain Blue, born in 1937, was Shawn's father.  W. Clancy died in 2000 and Edna in 2001, and they are both buried in the Fairy Cemetery in Hamilton County.

Here's what Shawn had to say:

I really enjoyed my visit today. My grandmother held education in high regard and would be so pleased to know how delighted you were with her treasured Tarleton items. She did receive a two-year degree from Tarleton and was able to teach in public schools with it due a teacher shortage. She also taught at Pottsville. My dad Dorsey was their only child. Here is an interesting fact: my grandfather Clancy was one of Edna's students... That's how they met! 

Thank you, Shawn, for visiting us today, and for donating these items!

(photo of Shawn Blue by Collections Archivist Gary Spurr; photo of book strap by Archives and Reference Assistant Crystal Stanely; photo of Edna Wolfe from page 75 of the 1926 Grassburr at the Portal to Texas History.)

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